Belonging Matters

Big Sigh!

2011-09-21T03:26:00.000-07:00

I just have to laugh sometimes at how little people know or care to know about issues that impact people with disabilities. I must truly enjoy the challenge because I insist on immersing myself in groups that have little to zero focus on disability and becoming their token disability person. Part of a response I just read in an email from someone was about how AAC (Augmentative and Alternative Communication) is questionable because one sentence on a Wikipedia page referred to how users of AAC often have poor literacy and are unlikely to be in employment. I read the entire Wikipedia page and found several more references that explained that it was environmental factors and not having better access to technology that contributed to this among other things. Seriously, show me the respect as an intelligent person to read at least the whole Wikipedia page before you find the one sentence that in your mind shows that asking for access to AAC for students in schools is not some wacky far out thing. For the love of god!!!

Coming out of Blogtirement

2011-09-18T22:10:00.000-07:00

Last October I decided that I needed to get off the Internets and also that debating with people was not a good use of my time when I could be helping actual people in real time. In the last year I feel I have found some balance and can handle being on the Internet and out in the world as well.

One of the things that I did after I quit the blogs last year was volunteer in the behavior classroom at my daughter's school. I spent roughly 4 hours a week in the classroom but missed a week here and there. I plan to go back this year starting in October and am excited to see some familiar faces who will pretend they are not happy to see me but deep down I will know they are. These kids were such great teachers and seeing those classrooms from the inside vs. the outside gave me a lot of perspective. In some ways my opinions became fact and in others my opinions turned out to be not quite what it looked like from the outside. As a practitioner of positive behavior supports my horizons were beyond expanded. I remember a few times just thinking to myself, "I have no idea how to handle this right now." I now believe even more that segregation is part of the problem. I remember hearing these kids asking, "When am I going to be mainstreamed?" and my heart just sinking. The teacher and staff were incredible and there was no doubt they were there for the kids 100 percent. It is a shame there is still a segregated class for me to go back to but I am hopeful that I will be a part of a future that ends segregation in our schools forever. I think part of my work is educating the people who have absolutely no idea this world exists.

What is a High-Achiever?

2010-10-22T22:47:00.000-07:00

I pondered this question earlier this week during a discussion. I think that we need to clearly define what we mean when we say that about a child. It is not wrong to think of a high achiever as a college bound, ready for AP, IB, Immersion, Sports, Performance etc type child. It occurred to me then though that we really need to take the time to clarify what we mean by it in writing and debate. It can be tedious to be so careful when we talk sometimes but a formal definition of what this archetype of the "high achiever" is will at least shorten the duration of conversations. I am going to be gratuitously self-indulgent and use myself as an example.

I have been able to settle into a pretty great career with less formal education than most of my peers and I dropped out of high school. The reason I dropped out was because I am nocturnal and punctuality-challenged. Basically, I had to get bussed across town instead of going to the walking distance school and kept missing the pre-dawn city bus that only ran once an hour. I had so many tardies and missed days that after I dropped out I had several full days of detention to come back to serve in order to get my final grades counted. Fast forward to 11th grade and I decide to try and graduate on time after missing the second semester of 10th. I enroll in my neighborhood high school and I am living on my own at this point and have a full-time job. I had to take 10th and 11th grade PE and English and 9th grade Algebra that first year back. By the time I graduated I had AP classes under my belt, had published 2 literary journals, had been the president of a club, arranged a rock show at the school, and had been promoted from dishwasher to pastamaker. I meandered my way to the present with no regrets mostly self-taught and feel that I am a pretty high achiever.

In a sound bite my definition of a high achiever is any student that is ready for college, work, athletics, military, family, travel, volunteering, and independence presuming the appropriate steps are taken to remove barriers to these learning opportunities.

Book with a chapter on Portland Civics

2010-07-06T13:20:00.000-07:00

I read this book while getting away for the weekend because you spell my middle name "N E R D" and this is the type of stuff I long to read when I have free time.

Portland got it's very own chapter in this book. The chapter on Portland was interesting and I felt it was pretty honest but I have also not lived a lot of this history. While we have a lot to be proud of we still have a very long way to go dealing with the unintended consequences that all of this civic-mindedness has wrought. There was some backstory on why East County feels left out of Portland civic life and also a touch on the issues of the poor and minorities being under represented.

Overall though it was nice to read about what works/doesn't work in Portland from this author's perspective in order to capture some of this for the communities I feel an affinity too and bring the disenfranchised together on the same side of the boulder. Fighting amongst ourselves is not working anymore and the majority community is feeling the heat of poverty and loss now as well so perhaps this is a time to come together vs. split even further apart.

I am tired of paying for someone else to have a private school education

2010-06-02T22:02:00.000-07:00

How is it fair to allow poor and minority schools to fail while other schools directly benefit from that failure? Why are we still having these conversations about how to solve this? There is no way to justify the two-tiered system we have in our schools, the history is clear.
Make people go to their neighborhood school starting with current 7th graders and year after next's K-6 grandfathering people who have already transferred but only until the 8th grade and then they have to go to their neighborhood high school. Put community organizers and community partnerships together to ease and guide the transitions of neighborhoods blending into one school and then continue to engage and include families in the decision making process.

Use your words....to KILL Zombies!!!!

2010-05-05T22:54:00.000-07:00

Ever wonder how to get those darn kids to practice their keyboarding skills? Well look no further than The Typing of the Dead A charming game where rapid fire typing replaces guns but you still get that satisfying splatter of Zombie guts.

Holy Guacamole!

2010-04-29T23:32:00.000-07:00

The Internet murmurs about special education are getting very very interesting. There is some good commentary going at www.cheatinginclass.com.

I am getting a few emails from people that are ready to organize. If anyone out there wants to get connected and involved contact me. I want to hear your stories; the good ones and the bad ones. I have been talking with another mom about collecting stories of surviving Portland Public Schools Special Education. Even if you just want to be in the loop send me an email at stephanie.c.hunter@gmail.com.

It's time to speak out

2010-04-22T22:58:00.000-07:00

Families that have children receiving special education services in self-contained classrooms tend to be very isolated. It is the exception and not the rule when families become connected and involved after being segregated. Due to this separation it is very difficult to bring parents of kids receiving special education together to organize for or against issues and actions that impact our kids. I believe that parents of kids receiving special education services should not wait for a meeting that is supposed to address their concerns. The community needs to hear our stories and concerns in the general forum. It is important that we no longer accept this separate and unequal treatment that demoralizes families and disrespects children. We need to speak out whenever an opportunity presents itself, teach the rest of the community, and give them the chance to meet us and learn.

Here are some upcoming opportunities for families to share their issues and actions about special education services and how they impact our kids:

2 of these opportunities are sponsored by City Hall. Here is a blurb from the PPS website about the Portland Plan...

The Portland Plan is the city's effort to guide Portland's growth and development for the next 25 years. At the workshops, participants will set goals and targets around a variety of issues facing Portland, including improving access to affordable housing, quality schools and 20-minute neighborhoods.

The following two meetings are an excellent opportunity for our families to make Special Education a mainstream community issue.

April 29 from 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. at Beaumont Middle School, 4043 N.E. Fremont St., and 6:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. May 18 at Jackson Middle School, 10625 S.W. 35th Ave.

Another opportunity to speak out is a community forum on Restorative Justice in Schools. This will be held at Parkrose School District Board Room at 10636 NE Prescott on Monday, May 10th from 8am to 10am. Questions and RSVP for this at 503-988-6951 or 503-969-7783.

We can't change the system unless we show up.

The end of PPS Equity and The beginning of......?

2010-03-28T22:31:00.000-07:00

In late 2008 I began to get involved with the redesign of Portland Public Schools High Schools. It was 3am and a school board meeting was being rebroadcast on TV and for some reason I stopped there to watch. I was reminded of what my mentors in disability advocacy had told me about getting involved in issues that impact the entire community and to build a coalition while including disability rights.
I noticed while watching the school board meeting that they were taking public comment on the redesign of high schools. I immediately went to the website and noticed that the draft criteria of the plan made no mention of special education nor a commitment to update facilities to meet ADA standards. I went to the next board meeting and waited until almost 10pm to give my 3 minute testimony on including ADA accessibility in the plan criteria as well as limiting the frequent movement of students with disabilities. Alisa Wood-Walters from the Oregon PTA approached me after I spoke and told me I should apply for a PPS committee looking at enrollment and transfer issues. I applied and was accepted and was introduced to the big big world of inequities in PPS for many more students than just those with disabilities. I met some incredible leaders on that committee and one of those people was Steve Rawley who was the editor of a blog called PPS Equity. I lost more sleep than usual devouring the information on this blog and then researching the differing opinions to put together my thoughts on the issues. I was already a neighborhood schools advocate before I knew just what a hot button issue it really was in Portland. I did choose to "flee" my neighborhood school of Chief Joseph for Ockley Green because I had heard from other parents in special education that kids were pushed out of Chief Joseph if they had IEP's. Ockley Green was only a few blocks away and reminded me of my beloved King School in Illinois and so we opted for Ockley because being close to home was still important to me.
Discovering PPS Equity has been a really important part of my advocacy. It was so wonderful to go back to my friends who have kids with disabilities and say, "They want to hear our stories, they value our kids being included." I really did think that the community at large did not want kids with disabilities in their school and it was so exciting to have this forum to share my perspective and realize that I was in fact wrong and people just didn't know the extent of the law-breaking and discrimination. Since my first post I have only made more connections such as GRG - Grandparents raising Grandkids and the Parent Union. I get more and more emails from people that want to be a part of making sure special education is included in the larger mission of equity in PPS.
I really believe this stuff deep in my soul and practice what I preach in action not just on the Internet. When people respond to what I write in the public forum it gives me an opportunity to go deep into an issue. I never speak off the cuff if I can help it and will research something before I would dare put it in the public but it is still my (informed) opinion at the end of the day. I have realized lately how much time I am wasting going tit for tat with folks on the Internets. I learn a lot from debate, don't get me wrong, but the energy drain this has had on me is much more noticeable in my day to day life. Steve Rawley really summed up how I have been feeling in this statement:

There is no doubt that injustices exist, and there is no doubt that we have tried to negotiate. It’s time for self-purification — the purging of angry and violent thoughts — and direct action. It’s time to get off the blogs and take to the streets.

I pretty much know how I feel, what is important, and what I need to do to accomplish it. At this point all I can do is set an example and move forward. With PPS Equity gone I may actually update my own blog more but my actual presence in gathering the stories of people experiencing inequity is much more powerful. Teaching people what I have learned and putting my energy into Ockley Green and bringing the ELL and SpEd community together is where I need to prioritize. Oh Lord help me because the P word is so hard for me.....

P R I O R I T I Z E!!!

I tell my husband who puts up with my self-righteous do-gooderness that it just, "....all seems so important." It's the beginning of something I can't yet predict.

Thank you Steve Rawley for teaching me so much and providing me with a voice on your blog that has helped me connect with so many wonderful people ready to take it to the streets now.

Badge of Honor - My first nasty email

2010-03-22T00:23:00.001-07:00

In response to sticking up for the poor and creating communities that were more inclusive on a Grant High School blog I received this personal email:

Please share your call for involvement with communities that currently lack cohesion around education, instead of trying guilt-trip me for wanting to maintain a good public H.S. education for my child in our neighborhood.

I have actually noticed identical comments from this person on Oregonlive.com and they are the usual fare you find over there of no facts and all boo-hoo my kid might have to go to Jefferson. I don't feel that this person speaks for the group as a whole but the silence on personal responsibility to end the achievement gap in general is frustrating. Apparently this chump has no idea that Grant has it's own achievement gap but bills itself as a successful school. Didn't even have the nerve to say it to my Internet face.

Why I should not be in charge of anything

2010-03-03T23:02:00.000-08:00

I spend so much time writing on other people's blogs I am not keeping up with my own.
I was thinking today about how I have way too much going on but it all seems so important...I think about that every day actually. I randomly become concerned someone is going to offer me a formal leadership position because I have a hard time saying no and usually say yes. The excuse I give people when they ask me to lead something is that I don't like asking permission when the right thing needs to be done NOW. I think that I am a great cheerleader but too much of a social nomad to run anything. I think I am going to continue to run with that. Perhaps a leadership position where I don't have to ask anyone's permission for anything will come along someday. Well that was an attempt to be motivated to write on my blog but the moment has passed, till next time.

Sensory Saturdays at Canby Cinemas

2009-12-05T02:03:00.000-08:00

From the website:

Sensory Saturday is for kids (and adults) with special needs or with just sensory issues. Monthly Canby Cinema 8 will open their doors for children and their families for a Sensory Saturday movie. All movies are going to be Family oriented.

Canby Cinema 8 at 252 NE 2nd Avenue • Canby, Oregon 97013
First movie November 21st 2009 at 10:00 am
Movie playing is “Planet 51”
Cost is $6.50 each but if you buy 10 or more they are only $5.00 each.
Lights will not be turned all the way down, sound will not be turned all the way up, and the kids can walk and or dance around, with no worry of disturbing the rest of the public.
Half way in the movie there will be a 10 min break for all
Children with special diets can bring in their own snacks (gluten and wheat free foods)
Kids tray available for $3.00 comes with popcorn, drink and a fruit snack on a tray.

Come join us for Oregon’s first known Sensory Saturday Movie, Doors will be opening at 9:00am, box office opens 1/2 hour before the first show. We hope that you can help us spread the word on this extraordinary opportunity for the special need community.

If you would like more information or an interview contact: Robin at 503-349-9170 or Linda Benjamin 503-819-0600 (General Manager of Canby Cinema8).

Product for Independence - Proloquo 2 Go Portable Communication

2009-09-29T21:32:00.001-07:00

Go to the Proloquo2Go website and it has a lot of information about using this software in combination with an iPhone or iPod touch to expand communication options for people with a variety of challenges with expressive language. I attended a conference where autistic self-advocate Dora Raymaker (she does not like to be referred to in person first language) used this device to teach her breakout session. This is much cheaper and frankly much cooler than the chunkier technology such as Dynavox. The website tells you everything you need to know about how to get started.

Stuff you NEED

2009-07-12T22:05:00.000-07:00

http://www.autismfurniture.com/
and
http://www.ourcreativemindsinc.com/main.sc

Both of these businesses were vendors at the conference I attended recently. The autism furniture are super cozy foam pillows and beds that are easy to clean and so comfortable. I cannot believe how cheap they are. The creative minds store is a business that brings together all of those products we spend hours searching for on the Internet for fun, safety, and learning.

Check them out!

Amazing website that will read text, websites, and documents to you

2009-07-12T01:26:00.000-07:00

I learned about www.readthewords.com from a post that Rachel Maddow had put on Twitter. I reminded myself recently what a great resource this is for people that need reading support and want to have a variety of male and female voices to choose from. Membership is FREE.

Argument #2 in favor of a public choice for health care

2009-06-27T22:55:00.000-07:00

Many families I know that have a child with a disability are desperately seeking respite care, babysitters, skills trainers, and consultants. All of these supports are difficult to find at least in Oregon because you have to either be an independent contractor to do the work, have to get lucky enough to find full-time work for an agency, or do the work with no benefits or paid training and hope for the best. There is an agency that will hire and train skills trainers but they charge the funding source almost $30 an hour. Mental Health pays more than that an hour for a skills trainer or respite provider.

Often, families will actually be able to get funding for extra help for their child through the county or state but they cannot find anyone to do the work. The fall out of this is that parents often give up their child to foster care because they cannot manage the stress any longer. This costs the tax payers a lot of money when a child goes into foster care.

Why is it so hard to find someone? You could argue it is the work itself that people do not want to do but in fact what more people say is that they need benefits and working in someone's home for 10 to 12 bucks and hour with no benefits is just not going to be possible.

The county and state spend millions of dollars on foster care for children who come from loving families that simply could not find the help they needed to keep their child safely at home. If the county or state would give just a fraction of this money to families so they could hire and insure some help at home then the savings to the state in foster and crisis funding would happen fairly quickly after some adjustments to the system.

In a nutshell, if there was a public choice for health care then there would be an increase in in-home caregivers (trust me, there would) and a decrease in children having to go into foster care or group homes. In addition, there is a decrease in children being hospitalized which saves money, no police have to go to the home....savings....and the crisis system for children will need less funding. These kids will not grow up in foster care which then can sometimes create a system savvy child that ends up in jail. By the time these kids are adults the state will see much less need to fund crisis programs because more kids are able to stay home with the family and the family gets extra help. It might sound nutty but I know how the money works in human services and if parents are informed and have help then kids do much better than being sent away for the extra help. A public choice equals more respite providers.....equals rested parents.... equals happy kids and positive adult outcomes..... equals less need for crisis funding...... equals more money for funding a public choice or other state needs...... equals better services in other areas.

It just makes sense to take care of people.

Argument in favor of a public choice for health care #1

2009-06-24T22:17:00.000-07:00

In May 2008 I quit my job of 8 years to start my own business as an independent consultant. 6 months later I was looking for a job and not because business was bad. Business was in fact incredible and I was even thinking about hiring an employee to help me out with all the work I had to do. The number one reason why I had to end my business was health care. I had other reasons of course but health care was the dealbreaker.

Naively, I applied for a family plan with Kaiser Permanente in order to continue with the same coverage I had through my employer and keep the same pediatrician for my daughter. I was very surprised when I was approved and my healthy 5 year old daughter was denied coverage. The reason she was denied was "unfavorable hospitalization or medical attention" and the letter did not clarify what specifically this meant and the insurance company representative said they did not know what it meant either. I appealed the denial and spoke with my daughter's pediatrician. I asked her, "Could it be autism she is being denied for?" She has never been hospitalized and autism is a developmental issue so the doctor and I both decided that her letter should not address autism when agreeing with my appeal to Kaiser. Smart cookie I am decided that I just better pay a little extra postage for delivery confirmation when sending in the appeal. Wouldn't you know it....when I followed up 5 weeks later (because the appeal information said do not call before then) they had never received my appeal. Or course when I said, "Oh that's funny because according to my delivery confirmation you received it 3 days after I sent it." They were very very prompt in making sure I was able to fax my appeal to the right person immediately after that. Only a few days later I received a letter stating my appeal was denied because of "autism". I decided soon after that it was time to find a job instead so my daughter would have coverage.

I could have been a successful small business owner and was hoping to employ someone. Thanks to health insurers denying private coverage to my healthy daughter who just happens to have autism I could no longer keep the business going.

Heroes in Iran - Building a Global Community

2009-06-18T17:33:00.000-07:00

It was 3:30 in the morning June 19th when I started writing this. I was curled up under my blankets in bed with my Blackberry - I was refreshing twitter to get the latest news about the post election rally's. I felt helpless and ironic all at once; comfortable in my bed but gripped by the reality unfolding across oceans from me.
I am overcome with emotion still - I am sharing a minute of this persons life, their real life, happening right then and right now. The twitter posts (I am still too new to twitter to call it a tweet without feeling like a complete tool) have a time marker...half a minute ago it says. I picture this student on the other side of the technology and share the urgency.
I care about these people! I want them to do well, I admire them, I want them to...survive. One person using twitter was off the air for over 20 hours and other users began to air concerns. Collectively we care about these complete strangers and we want them to be free and to live. The two twitter users that I am following the most inside Iran also cause me to worry when many hours go by with no news.

We realize we are more the same than different. The people of Iran want what we want in the US. Freedom and to have our leaders truly representing our needs, interests, and concerns.

Imagine if online social networking is what changes the world. I have learned more about Iran in a week than I have learned my whole life. I want them to do well. They are heroes.

Since I wrote the above post it is now a few days later - June 21st, 2009. We have seen real horrors and murder unfolding before us through our computers and televisions. Few in the world will be the same after this experience; especially those living....and dying in Iran.

There are haters on the web complaining about the Internet traffic devoted to this and proclaiming our utter lameness as Americans in becoming interested in the Iranian situation but not having a clue about the region prior to this. To them I say..."So What!" Honestly it is better late than never that our ethnocentric, individualistic, and attention deficit disordered nation actually notices that there is a world outside of our shores. I am sorry it took this terrible event and that people suffering and reaching out to us through the web is what opened our eyes.

I really am hopeful that this opportunity to understand that we are more the same than different in this world will not be lost.

I think it would be wonderful if we build on this shared global experience and collect more stories and images from other places of both joy and pain.

Quote of the Day

2009-06-07T01:10:00.000-07:00

Whites must find ways to take collective responsibility for racial subordination. And, perhaps most centrally, Whites must come to understand that either one engages in meaningful antiracist action, or one supports White supremacy; there is no middle ground.

From this link:
Whiteness as Metaprivilege

Portland Public Schools Restructing the Pioneer Program

2009-05-30T17:03:00.000-07:00

Special education services restructured to better serve students

5/21/2009

Portland Public Schools is realigning a core piece of its special education services – the Pioneer Schools -- to better meet student needs, tap the expertise of administrators and encourage teamwork.

The restructuring is also the start of the district’s larger effort to address a nationally recognized problem of misdirecting and inappropriately serving African-American students and English language learners in special education. The new structure allows for more tailored services, rather than combining a range of students with a variety of behaviors in one setting.

Portland Public Schools launched the Pioneer Schools in 1999 with three classrooms. Before that, students in special education who were in need of intervention were sent outside the district to private programs at great expense. Very few ever returned to their neighborhood schools. Pioneer Schools, led by Principal Stacey Sibley, brought these students back to receive services within the district. The percentage of students able to return to their neighborhood schools increased from 1 percent a year to as high as 20 percent a year.

“I worked in some of the out-of-district programs, and I know that many of the students who were sent there -- and their parents -- would miss typical school experiences such as art programs and PTA,” Sibley says. “We’ve been able to have all of those things at Pioneer and more, including yoga and a parent support group.”

Today Pioneer includes Pioneer at Holladay (elementary), Pioneer at Youngson (middle school), Pioneer at Columbia (high school), the Pioneer Annex and a day treatment center where students receive mental health services. Together they serve 230 students on a typical day and 450 students a year.

Over time, the types of students sent to the Pioneer Schools grew. Today, students who are expelled or who are being evaluated for special education attend Pioneer along with students in special education, with a range of eligibilities from behavioral disorders to mental health issues.

The result can be a negative spiral for students who do not require the restrictive environment and intensive interventions that their classmates need. And these students, as is the case with the larger special education population, are disproportionately black or English language learners.

Under the new structure, students who are expelled and those who are being evaluated for special education each will be served at new settings. A student who is expelled, for example, may attend one of the community-based organizations or Education Options Programs. Students in special education who are expelled will get their general and specially designed instruction at a separate location. The goal is still for those students to rejoin their neighborhood school when their expulsion is over.

The Pioneer Schools will return to the original focus of serving students in special education who require time out from their neighborhood school for social and academic skill-building and stabilization.

“We believe this approach not only focuses more on the specific needs of these students but groups students with similar challenges, allowing for peer support and a clearer path to returning to school,” said Joanne Mabbott, director of special education services. “The structure also continues to support teachers and principals who need a place to refer students for intervention.”

The new structure follows a teamwork model. Each of the Pioneer Programs will be led by a program administrator with a dedicated staff and control over his or her budget. This promotes stability, focus and team building within each program and decreases the need to move staff members across the four campuses based on attendance. Opportunities for collaboration among the programs will be offered; however, there will no longer be a principal overseeing all four locations.

“We recognize that there is a lot of work ahead to assure that we are correctly identifying and serving all students appropriately,” said Superintendent Carole Smith. “This move to better differentiate and more specifically assist different groups is the beginning of a shift in our thinking that will lead to greater equity.”

Product for Independence: Touch and Brush

2009-05-25T15:27:00.000-07:00

I saw this on TV the other day and my first thought was, "you have got to be kidding me" but my second thought was, "OOH that could really help people with mobility and fine motor skill challenges live independently.

How it works is that you load up your toothpaste tube and then it uses vacuum pressure to squeeze it onto your toothbrush when you put the brush inside the opening in the plastic shell and push on a lever with the brush a measured amount of toothpaste comes out.

I have spent a lot of time trying to teach people how to take off a toothpaste lid and now we can worry about other things and they can just stick their toothbrush into a hole. Awesome!

Pregnant ladies need to be treated like the finest of silks - Happy Mom's Day

2009-05-10T22:42:00.000-07:00

From the latest Psychology Today...

This new science of fetal programming, which investigates how in utero influences cause physiological changes that can linger into later life, is producing clues to mysterious disorders such as autism and schizophrenia, as well as evidence of the very early effects of stress and toxins. Scientists still don't know all the hows and whys of these fetal cues, but the when is very clear: earlier than we ever thought.

I was extremely stressed out during my pregnancy. I am an intense person anyway but I am typically optimistic and on a mission. Before I became pregnant I was on top of my game. I was in college, in a cool punk rock band, and was a skills trainer for 2 teen boys with disabilities but my job allowed me to make my own schedule. I lived with some amazing women and was going to get my debt under control. I was driving up 33rd towards NE Fremont and as I get to the top of this steep hill to go through the intersection and unlicensed driver in his Mom's car takes a left turn and plows into me. The light was still in my favor as I got out of my car and was berated for running a red light by the other driver. As I look up to show him the light goes from yellow to red. I went ahead and let the guy yell at me. I am very cool in a crisis so I was able to keep it together. I even let the man talk to the officer first. I walked up to the officer and said, "I want to follow protocol so just let me know when it is my turn. It is interesting to me how I find serious crisis strangely relaxing but then get stressed out over less serious things.

The next step of the story is that I had to give up the job I loved with the boys because it required a vehicle. Soon after this stressor entered my life I found out I was pregnant. I went and worked in a group home for children with aggressive behaviors and developmental disabilities and entered a period of amplified stress, uncertainty, and dependency on others because I had to and not because I wanted to. I have always taken care of myself and having to depend on others caused me more stress than the car accident and pregnancy combined. Towards the end of my pregnancy I was able to use my superpowers and awesome friends and colleagues to get myself back into a better place in life and got my old job back. The earliest and most important times of development for my pre-natal child I was more stressed than I had been in several years and it was very concentrated and raw.

I am not going to guilt trip myself and think that my daughter's autism is my fault because I would not change her in any way. I have enjoyed being her Mom so much and she is almost 6 and is starting to make those really important connections with her world. She is still a master at shutting out the world around her but she is infinitely talented and full of joy.

I think it is important for people to learn more about the effects that stress have on developing babies and especially the added bullet of environmental toxins. I do worry that parents will beat on themselves with this information though. This is fed by the societal view that having a disability means there is something "wrong" with you. If people with disabilities were not still treated like second class citizens in our nation then perhaps this notion of guilt and sorrow over having a child with a disability would decrease.

The entire point of this blog post is to treat pregnant women like fine silk, spun gold, the holy grail, your out-of-print 13th floor Elevators record...whatever you would put on a pedestal. Even when that pregnant woman insists on doing everything for herself you find a way to do for her and make her little fetus bathe in happiness and health.

and to steal from Wacky Mom again...."do it because I said so."

Product for Independence - Colored water for sinks and showers

2009-05-03T02:29:00.000-07:00

This is a great example of Universal Design. Something that I saw at OMSI for entertainment purposes could help people avoid getting burned that want to be independent. If the water is cold it is lit up blue and when it gets warmer it starts to turn red. For children learning how to be safe with adjusting water to adults with disabilities learning to live on their own with minimal help this product could really help. Another strategy for water safety is also to adjust your water heater to a safe temperature as well.

Quote of the day

2009-04-15T01:58:00.000-07:00

Inspired by www.wackymommy.org I decided to do a quote of the day.

When lamenting to a friend about herding cats (my new favorite saying) she said, "getting together on the same side of the boulder."

Yep!

Oregon tracking post high school employment numbers for students with disabilities

2009-04-01T23:20:00.000-07:00

Read the article here

The actual title of the article was Oregon tracks special ed students after high school. The reason why I mention it is because it is not person first language. I am NOT ultra PC by any means but I am about person first language and the word special. I should write a post about my hatred of the word special. It drives me crazy that I have to use it sometimes because it is such a commonly used term.

So I say it is good that this is being tracked but I already found references in this article to grocery stores, landscaping, and restaurants. This is such a tired stereotype. I mean if someone's dream is to work at Fred Meyer, and I do know people that strive for this, then yeah, let's do it. What is happening more often is that other people are telling these kids that is all they will ever be able to do. This link is on Oregon DHS's website and it is about supported employment and has some success stories of people working at their dream jobs. Scroll down to check out Andy Owens story.
I was surprised that this article did not mention the support brokerages and that as of this summer ALL adults with disabilities will no longer be waitlisted for supports. A huge deal and a hard won battle for advocates in the State finally come true.

Oregon Commission on Autism Created

2009-03-26T00:29:00.000-07:00

Below is the contents of an email I received today. I wish I had the time to try and apply for this.

Hello Everyone,

I am writing with exciting news. Today, Governor Kulongoski has signed Executive Order NO. 09-07, creating the Oregon Autism Commission! This is the result of months of work by members of the Oregon Autism Project and informed by the testimony of many of you during our statewide tour. It was the stories each of you shared that have helped lead to today’s signing. Attached is a copy of the Executive Order language. The Commission will be composed of 13 members, consisting of a self-advocate, parents, educators, human service personnel, and a variety of other individuals with experience and expertise with Autism Spectrum Disorder. It will be tasked with a variety of challenges aimed at improving the lives of individuals and families experiencing ASD. Ultimately members of the Commission members will be asked to accomplish one thing: to provide results. For too long confronting the challenges of ASD in Oregon has lacked a coordinated approach; leaving individuals, families, and countless committed teachers, caregivers, and advocates, to fight this battle on their own. The Governor’s action recognizes the need to focus our efforts and unite together toward a common goal. I would like to commend the Governor for answering our call and taking this first step toward helping our community. In the coming weeks the Governor’s office will be accepting applications to fill each particular Commission position. Interested applicants should be aware that this is a work-oriented commission. Successful applicants should have an established skill set and demonstrable experience in the particular slot which they are applying. No reimbursement is available and time requirement will be significant. I would encourage any of you that feel capable and up to the challenge to submit an application. I have attached an interest form which needs to be filled out in entirety and returned to the Governor’s office. If you have questions you can contact my office or refer to the Governor’s appointment website at http://governor.oregon.gov/Gov/boards.shtml. In addition to the Commission appointments, it is our intention that the Commission will establish sub-committees to address specific parts of the work plan. Those that submit an application for a place on the commission will be considered for these positions as well. Again, I would like to thank all of you for your involvement in this process. As the results of additional ASD related efforts bear fruit I will keep you informed.

All the Best,
Chris Edwards

Special Education numbers in Oregon

2009-03-19T09:59:00.000-07:00

Here is a brief article from the Oregonian on the increase in numbers of special education in Oregon.

I was surprised to read that there are only 100 students in live in day treatment in Oregon. I feel compelled to actually confirm that in some way because it seems low. I really do hope we are finding ways to keep these kids safe and close to home vs. institutionalization.

I am concerned about the more than 1300 in special schools that are only for kids with disabilities. Those places are poisonous in my opinion. I have met some really great teachers in these programs and I feel just as bad for them as I do the students. It is the whole "if you have a special program then you need to fill it" mentality. It is such garbage and all these places exist for is to become a dumping ground for undersupported kids and families.

There is another layer to this and it is the families that are also pushed into hiding and submission. Even in this day and age people still hide their children with disabilities and emotional issues. Of course some of these parents also have disabilities themselves and are self-medicating with drugs and alcohol and then the child has to deal with the fallout at home and then having to go to a school where you get immersed in "I am a problem and that is why I have to go to this school". Yippee, I get to prove myself in isolation till someone decides I am ready to be integrated into the real world. It is such crap it makes me crazy.

As always I have to actually counter my own way of thinking.....I do know some children that are very dangerous to themselves and others. I think that this is more rare however and that these kids are STILL better off at least on campus with kids without disabilities even if it is in a separate building. As a behaviorist I must of course also ask the question WHY are these kids doing this to themselves or others and have we tried to figure this out or just worry on where are we going to put them. Behavior is communication and if a kid is trying to rip into your skin with his teeth (and I have the scars to prove it) then let's try to figure out why. There is always a why. There are some disabilities that neurologically set the kid up for a lifetime of unsolvable problems unfortunately. I still think there are creative solutions and if we can support these families better then we would have time to figure this out. I can't tell you how many families I have worked with that have 2 or 3 kids and all of them have a disability. The loneliness and isolation is staggering.

Get it Down on Paper

2009-03-15T02:46:00.000-07:00

I was looking through draft posts and noticed this one was never posted. I was motivated to create this post after a friend of mine died suddenly and tragically mid-January. I was one of a handful of people that knew anything about the high level of care and support her son needs; he has autism and does not talk. I encourage everyone to complete this form or come up with your own.....

These are 3 language versions of what is called a Life Care Notebook that the Swindells Center has put together. It is over 40 pages long but it is all the stuff a parent might know and not necessarily share with others.

English Version

Spanish Version

Russian Version

Helping my daughter's friend understand her better

2009-02-15T12:59:00.000-08:00

My 5 year old daughter has been having trouble at school with her best friend. After some detective work I think that her parents and I have narrowed it down. We speculate that my daughter is having a hard time understanding that you can have relationships with people in more than one location. My daughter is in the role of the bully right now and her friend is stuck rationalizing why her friend would treat her like this. I was considering a school transfer but we have worked so hard to build support for my daughter being included in this school and I just hate to start over. I talked with her parents and let them know that I am OK with their daughter knowing my daughter's label of autism. It is important to me that her friend is treated well and not bullied. This does not happen outside of school. I picked up this book and it is a cute little book that is set up like a fill in the blank workbook. Her parents are going to help her fill it out and understand why my daughter acts the way she does sometimes. In the meantime I will keep trying to write social stories and volunteer in the classroom till we can help my girl understand that it is OK to have friends in more than one place. I will post on the progress of this but do recommend this book overall. It is very respectfully written and really covers the spectrum of autism well using kid language.

Empowered Parents should not have to host a Pity Party to get services

2009-01-04T20:05:00.001-08:00

Shelby the Party Worm
Originally uploaded by icklebird

I was talking with another parent today about services. She mentioned calling the evaluator back to retract some of the things she said about what her kid is capable of because she was being too positive. It's not fair that empowered parents that have high expectations of what their child with a disability is capable of are punished with less services. Empowered parents ask the state and county for only what they need and nothing more but if you are too positive then you don't even get what you need. I tire of the "broken system" excuse but it is true. Lots of work to be done and I am looking forward to putting my skills to work in 2009 to start fixing things.

Book I started that I like a lot so far

2009-01-04T01:02:00.000-08:00

I grabbed this book at Powells to look at while my daughter perused the My Little Pony books and did not intend to actually buy it. I read the first few pages and was drawn in enough to purchase. I have not even made it halfway through the book but I really like it. This is a story about a guy who was segregated in special education around 3rd grade and eventually ended up graduating from an Ivy League School. The book is not some afterschool special about overcoming disability but it is all about what that segregation does to a kid over their childhood. He talks about wanting to kill himself at age 12! In the first few pages he talks about visiting a special education classroom to give a speech and he ends up getting all the kids to chant, "normal people suck". Check it out: The Short Bus - A Journey Beyond Normal by Jonathan Mooney and also www.jonathanmooney.com

Join the Special Education PTA of Portland

2008-12-17T00:52:00.000-08:00

Below is the some general information about a Portland wide PTA that is starting. I would encourage all of you to try and make it if you can to the first meeting and if you need any more information or want me to send you a link to join the webgroup on facebook let me know.......Stephanie

Founded by families raising children (K-8) with disabilities in the Portland Public School District, SEPTAP is open to parents, teachers, school administrators and community members who are interested in improving the education and inclusion of students with disabilities. Our goals for year one are to:

• Educate families about their rights and responsibilities• Connect families with supports and resources• Improve communication between families, teachers, schools and the district• Increase family involvement

Our first public meeting! Tuesday, January 27th, 6:30PM at Beverly Cleary School Fernwood Campus (1915 NE 33rd Portland, OR 97212)
Come find out what SEPTAP has to offer and help us chart the course for our first year.
Refreshments will be served. Sorry, no childcare provided.

Parent Group in the Beaverton Area

2008-11-15T12:02:00.000-08:00

Are you pursuing your child's right to a free appropriate public education in the least restrictive environment of a general education classroom? Are you advocating for your child's right to be included? Bet you are feeling like you are all alone and that there is no one else out there that could understand what you are up against... You are not alone!! We invite you to join us as we birth a new parent networking opportunity known as ICAN (Inclusive Communities Action Network). Our first meeting will be November 24th, 6:30 at Baja Fresh 12286 SW Scholl's Ferry, Tigard. This first meeting will be an opportunity for us to share our vision for the future development of the group. Please note that this is a networking opportunity for those that believe in their child's right to be included, those pursuing inclusive placements, or those interested in learning more about inclusion.

Thank you America!

2008-11-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

Barack Obama is the president elect of the United States of America.

BOARDMAKER AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING

2008-10-21T21:57:00.000-07:00

I am doing a free training tomorrow 10/22/08 on creating visual communication systems. This training will be at Edwards School from 6 to 8pm and is located at 1715 SE 32nd place in Portland.

Parent Coffee Wednesday October 8th

2008-10-06T13:19:00.000-07:00

On October 8th I will be hosting a monthly parent coffee for MPAC in the parent resource room at Edwards in Portland. This is open to families in all counties and schools. We will have toys, snacks, coffee, computer access, printers, laminators, and all the great information we have to share with each other. The coffee will be at Edwards 1715 SE 32nd place in Portland from 10am to 1pm. In September I will be hosting both a daytime event and an evening event every month in addition to the other things MPAC does regularly. The themes of these get togethers will vary and there is also a lending library on site.

YOU CAN BRING YOUR KIDS!!!!!

John McCain's record on disabilities

2008-10-06T13:12:00.000-07:00

With the election around the corner and days to register to vote getting close I thought I would do my part to provide some information about where John McCain stands on disabilities. I know that there is a chance he could be influenced by his running mate who is a parent of a child with a disability but I have not been able to find anything yet to support this. She has proclaimed she will be an advocate for parents of children with special needs but what about the millions of American adults with disabilities as well as veterans living with or coming home with a disability? Here is some video footage of McCain speaking at a town hall and the question is in regards to the Community Choice Act that is co-sponsored by Obama. This bill would provide needed services in family homes for people requiring a great deal of care and families will not have to choose an institutional setting. There is currently an institutional bias and families have to choose this option to GET needed care or take great risks with the lives of their loved ones by lifting them in and out of bed and providing personal care such as bathing and dressing. It would actually save the feds a lot of money to provide the equipment needed and in-home nursing care so families can stay together. I just received an email from a friend who has a 6 year old boy who is in a wheelchair and has some medical needs. She only gets a small sum a year for support from the county and is on a waiting list for a medicaid waiver for in-home care. Her pediatrician just told her that she thinks he should go into a nursing home and even stated, "....but you could visit him whenever you want." No parent should ever have to put their child in a home but without this bill many young children will go into nursing homes that could thrive at home with their parents. Can you imagine "visiting" your child in a home? This is what the reality is right now and I know many people who have made this choice for the health care because they could not afford it any longer. I am sure the institutions are lining some pockets with money and no one has made the connection that the people who would lose their jobs if we close nursing homes could just work in the family homes. But here is what John McCain said and below that is some footage of the 40 advocates for the bill that he had arrested for showing up at his office to encourage his support for the bill....OK more like protesting but it was peaceful.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l0lBN14rTeQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgkC-Ln5UW8
Here is a link to a town hall broadcast by MSNBC where he took a question from a vet about his voting record.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JGvxK660oFo
This link is to Barack Obama's page on Americans with Disabilities with a video message. There are links and many specifics on what he plans to do.
http://origin.barackobama.com/issues/disabilities/
This is your link to John McCain's site to contrast with Obama's about disabilities.
http://americanswithdisabilities.johnmccain.com/AmericansWithDisabilities.htm

I have a voting record for both of them saved that I need to study further but seeing as how I am a one issue voter (not really, but disability, children, and the poor is what I look at first) I thought I would share my research so far with you all.
If you go to www.youtube.com there is actually a lot of video footage of John McCain swearing. In one c-span video I looked at he said the "f" word about 5 times in the public forum and then as he stormed off his words became even more colorful.

If you find anything to refute or back up what I have posted here please feel free to send it.

BOARDMAKER AND VISUAL COMMUNICATION TRAINING

2008-09-23T21:09:00.000-07:00

For anyone that actually checks this I completely forgot to post that I am doing a free training tomorrow on creating visual communication systems. This training will be at Thompson School from 6 to 8pm and is located at 14030 NE Sacramento in Portland. I will do this training pretty much every month and alternate between Edwards at 1715 SE 32nd place in Portland and Thompson every 4th Wednesday from 6 to 8pm.

A proposal on the abortion issue

2008-09-18T13:05:00.000-07:00

As a parent, disability rights advocate, woman, democrat, and reformed pentecostal christian I have many opinions about abortion swirling around in my head. As I stated in a previous post I am always trying to make everyone happy and solve problems (diplomacy or co-dependency?). On this issue I am trying to decide how *I* feel about it. First, I do feel that you cannot force someone to make choices about THEIR body but really in the instance of abortion there is the opinion of the fetus that is not considered. I do not buy the argument that any human at whatever age or level of cognition would ever choose to not be born, I just don't. The human spirit is to live and we are amazingly adaptable to life's circumstances.
From a disability perspective I do not think it is appropriate for people to be pro-choice but also against abortion of fetuses that might have disabilities because then it is essentially the same argument pro-lifers are making which is abortion is wrong and should not be a choice.
I agree with the people that say the (some) pro-lifers only care about unborn babies but could give a crap about what happens after they are born.
I think that at the core I am pro-life in all circumstances with the exception of a mother that may die from the pregnancy.......BUT I am only pro-life if this goes hand in hand with some major upheaval of our health system, mental health system, strategies for poverty, outreach and education on disability issues, and honestly, truly putting children first in this nation over financial gain and momentary satiation of wants that will end up destroying the world.

Here is my proposal:

Teaching both the benefits of abstinence but also the importance of protecting yourself from pregnancy and disease.
Once someone becomes pregnant they are automatically covered by an insurance fund IF they do not already have coverage.
Mandatory infant care and parenting classes for ALL pregnant families and refreshers for repeat parents.
Follow up by community health nurses for at least a year for all children
MD's and OB's do not push the genetic testing and in fact it is ONLY at the request of the parent.
If a child is identified as having a disability before birth then there is an additional program that addresses the issue "positively" about what this entails and what resources are available.
In the case of rape or incest then there is free mental health care for the entire pregnancy and within the first year of birth. And I mean GOOD mental health care that is regular.
There are incentives for choosing adoption and adopting is not something that costs prospective parents thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. There should be MAJOR screens and training of adoptive parents or single people or same sex partners (just to be clear on how I feel about that) so that people are not adopting a labor force or something but it should not be as hard as it is to adopt if there are so many people out there that cannot have kids and want them desperately.
There must be major reform of the health care and educational system because these two issues contribute to why people stay in poverty, end up in poverty, and kids are falling through the cracks every second of every day.
There needs to be a major reform of disability issues in general and a real commitment to increasing the acceptance of people and also the accomodations provided.

I have to get back to work but this is something I have been thinking about a lot lately trying to decide how I feel. So basically, until these things I have listed occur or someone provides a different argument I have to remain a closeted pro-lifer.

Pollution Soup

2008-09-13T22:20:00.000-07:00

I heard from someone that the autism workgroup in Beaverton fell apart when the "V" word was trotted out. I tend to be overly-diplomatic and am cursed with being able to see both sides most of the time. I have really strong opinions actually on the topic of vaccines and autism and am going to take a risk and actually open myself up to public scrutiny....OK here goes:

I wish that the parents that feel that vaccines caused their child's autism would use that wonderful passion, energy, drive, commitment, and anger to also address the fact that our world is a pollution soup and maybe, just maybe that is the source of an increase in communication delays, learning disabilities, ADHD, and perhaps also autism. We know that heavy metals cause neurological damage and we also know that these chemicals get stored in our bodies. This article talks about toxic chemicals that have been found in breast milk from flame retardant chemicals http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2003-09-22-breast-milk_x.htm and in New Zealand they have found a connection between flame retardant chemicals and SIDS (they call it cot death) http://www.myparentime.com/articles/articleS208.shtml. The people that refute these claims can usually be connected to someone that loses money if people stop using a certain product. Just today I saw a commercial that was in support of corn syrup of all things. Who, pray tell, was sponsoring this commercial but the corn refiners association. Curious to me that high fructose corn syrup needs a commercial and here is a link to someone's opinion on the matter http://www.westonaprice.org/motherlinda/cornsyrup.html and here is the link to what the corn growers think on the matter http://www.sweetsurprise.com/. People are making a lot of money on corn right now thanks to corn ethanol and many farmers are not growing other things because there are government subsidies for growing corn and this raises the prices on other food http://st4tic.wordpress.com/2008/04/25/corn-subsidies-how-congress-is-shortchanging-our-health-and-sweetening-things-for-the-food-industry/
OK to tie this all up....vaccines and autism....possibly.....but let's not be so naive to blame a single thing for autism when there are so many dangerous things happening in our world that are protected by big money. My plea to parents that are fighting the makers of vaccines....please add in some other proven and possible dangers to your fight for our children and all children.

Parent Coffee Wednesday 9/10 - KIDS WELCOME

2008-09-02T21:09:00.000-07:00

On September 10th I will be at Thompson school in Portland and my main focus this time is helping organize playdates and childcare swaps amongst the families that attend. This is open to families in all counties and schools. We will have toys, snacks, coffee, computer access, printers, laminators, and all the great information we have to share with each other. The coffee will be at Thompson School 14030 SE Sacramento in Portland from 10am to 1pm. I will be hosting both a daytime event and an evening event every month in addition to the other things MPAC does regularly. The themes of these get togethers will vary and there is also a lending library on site. YOU CAN BRING YOUR KIDS!!!!!

Vote YES and Volunteer to support Measure 26-94 to help kids

2008-09-02T21:06:00.000-07:00

Portland’s Measure 26-94 renews the Portland Children's Investment Fund. Please visit the Campaign Website to learn more, and Vote Yes on Measure 26-94 this November.

Town Hall on August 19th

2008-08-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

For the first time ever I got involved in the political process (other than voting for who my friend Ayleen tells me to) and it went really well. My Partners in Policymaking class this last weekend was focused on teaching us to be a part of political change. I learned things about politics I am embarrassed to say I had no clue about.
I emailed my state representative Tina Kotek about the town hall and she showed up and had some good questions for the forum and also feedback about getting involved in the health care committee she is on.
Dora Raymaker an autistic adult who is a self-advocate and participant in several state and national advocacy groups had a very powerful message about the committees lack of involvement of self-advocates. My feeling was that they heard her message loud and clear.
I spoke about loneliness and isolation in the community of parents with kiddos with autism.
I know time will tell and I don't want to jump for joy yet but it was really great to get involved and I will be doing more of this in the future for sure.

Please Support Representative Sara Gelser's Campaign

2008-08-01T00:00:00.000-07:00

Please join me in supporting Good Policy for People with Disabilities!
To see details and contribute now please go tohttp://secure.actblue.com/page/disabilities/recipient/159624Dear Friends, I am working hard to put together a winning campaign for thefall. As you know, this requires fundraising.
I am trying to raise money from the disability community, nationwide. We'vedone some great things together here in Oregon, and good policy has a way ofspreading to other states. I believe the disability community as a whole isbenefitted by having strong disability advocates in state legislatures.
Would you help me by forwarding this appeal to others you know in the disabilitycommunity, in Oregon and elsewhere? <strong>My goal is to find 1000disability advocates (from Oregon and beyond) who can contribute $10 (yes ten)or more over the next two weeks.</strong> Can you imagine what a powerfulmessage that would send about the political potential of our community? If youcan make whatever contribution you can afford today, and then forward therequest you will help me reach that goal!
ActBlue allows for instant online contributions. You can follow this link tolearn more about my work on disability policy, and my goal of reach 1000disability rights donors. You can also visit my campaign website athttp://www.saragelser.com/ to learn more about my campaign generally.
I have been so fortunate to have the support of the disability community in thepast. Thank you for all of your work, and thank you in advance for your help inmy efforts to return to Salem.
Fondly,Sara Gelser
P.S. 1000 $10 contributions will raise $10,000. However, if you can contributemore than $10 that is also very much appreciated!

Parent Coffee this Thursday 7/17

2008-07-14T14:40:00.000-07:00

I will host a Summer time parent coffee! Drop by to give input on what activities you would like to see this next year, meet other families and enjoy a cup of coffee.
Bring the kids! Urban Grind has a playroom for children under 5.
Thursday
July 17th, 2008

Where:
Urban Grind
2214 NE Oregon St
Portland, OR 97232

Time:
10:00 am-1:00 pm

Support this fundraiser July 23rd

2008-07-06T03:25:00.000-07:00

Dylan’s Voice: A Fundraiser for Children with Developmental Disabilities. COMING -- JULY 23. 2008
As part of the launch of our Raise Your Expectations campaign, Grandma Leeth’s will donate a whole 15 percent of its proceeds on Wednesday, July 23, 2008, to children with developmental disabilities, via the Arc of Multnomah-Clackamas. The Arc will restrict proceeds from this event, so that funds will go directly to families needing respite care. It’s for a truly great cause, so please consider:
1) Joining us for lunch or dinner on the 23rd of July; 2) Letting your friends, family and colleagues know; 3) Giving at any level on behalf of your organization, including many in-kind donations. Interested business owners or managers please contact us for more details at RaiseYourExpectations@GrandmaLeeths.com